


Voices

by Alexa_Piper



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I wrote this back in December but was cranky and didn't crosspost to AO3 at the time, It's really fluffy clean romance, Just a cute little date oneshot, The prompt was Hohenheim talking to his stone, Which has always been a bit fascinating to me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 11:06:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19227922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexa_Piper/pseuds/Alexa_Piper
Summary: Having half a million people in your head can be a blessing or a curse. It really depends on how you look at things...





	Voices

The thing about being a human-shaped philosopher’s stone was the voices in your head. Sure, it was sometimes useful – whenever Hohenheim had faced a challenge that he hadn’t encountered before, there were plenty of his myriad of souls who were more than willing to give him advice. With their help he had crossed deserts, learned the Xingese language, and even made his own liquor.

But sometimes, they really needed to shut up and let him figure things out on his own.

_“I still can’t believe you’ve never had a girlfriend before.”_

He ignored the comment, gritting his teeth in what he hoped was a smile. The day was perfect, sun dappling the ground with green shadows as the warm breeze stirred the leaves above their heads.

Trisha seemed oblivious to his internal struggle. Hohenheim watched from where he sat as she removed her shoes and stepped onto their picnic rug. The new spring dress he had brought her was blue like her favourite flowers, light and gathered at the waist in soft petal-like folds. She settled beside him and he tried not to stare at where the collar of her dress met her skin – she was wearing her hair tied up today, different from how she usually did, and he wondered what that meant.

_“It means she likes you.”_

_“OR it could just be a bit hot today.”_

He tried to push their voices away, turning his thoughts carefully blank. They pressed against the barrier of his mind. It had become familiar, sometimes even comforting, but right now Hohenheim was grateful that he could separate himself from open communication with them when he desired. Still, it was tricky, and harder to accomplish when his emotions burned as strongly as they did right now.

Trisha tilted her head, eyebrows drawn into a delicate frown. She must have said something.

“Sorry, what was that?” he asked. Her mouth curved into a smile, and he wondered if she was laughing at him.

“What are you thinking?”

He sighed, shrugging and turning his gaze away from her as though admiring something on the horizon. He couldn’t look at her right now – what would she see in the lines around his mouth, or the sadness that he knew was visible in his eyes?

She nudged his hand with hers, leaning closer. “Hey.” Her voice was soft, just like the rest of her, and he wondered if she would get hurt trying to push past his stone walls. “You’ve been quiet all morning.”

He kept his gaze away from hers, crossing his ankles and leaning back on one hand in an attempt to look nonchalant. The laughter in his head did nothing to help his nerves, but it wasn’t all bad – some of the voices were being quite encouraging too, and one of them… Hohenheim frowned, reaching up to rub his forehead as one particular voice shouted something a bit more lewd than he wanted to hear right now. Like everything else in nature, the souls bound to his own covered a broad spectrum of differences. It was difficult to get them all to agree on any particular course of action, but for once, Hohenheim found the majority of them in accordance with what he had decided to do.

“You’re definitely thinking about something.” Trisha’s voice cut through his thoughts again, and he dropped his hand and adjusted his view so that he was now angled towards her.

“I have a lot to think about,” he said.

He hadn’t meant for it to be so abrupt, but hurt was clear on her face. “About what?” She was guarded now, drawing back her hand. She chewed on her bottom lip, and he wondered if she was even aware of that nervous habit.

Hohenheim, as usual, had no idea what to say. He floundered in the ensuing silence, panicking when he couldn’t think of the right words… Maybe he did need some help after all.

_“How beautiful she is,”_  a feminine voice whispered from beyond his own mind.

“How beautiful you are,” he repeated dutifully.

Trisha’s eyes widened, her mouth opening in surprise.

_“How lucky you are to have her.”_  It was a male this time, and he dimly recognised it as the one who had been shouting less-than-appropriate things only a moment earlier.

“I’m just so lucky to have you,” he said. Her cheeks were tinged pinker than before, and he could have blamed it on the warmth of the day, but something told him otherwise.

His old alchemy teacher gave him the final push.  _“You love her, but there are some things that will take time to say.”_

“I have… a complicated past,” he confessed, shifting so that he was facing her completely. “I want to tell you everything before we make any decisions about our relationship, but I’ve never told anyone this before, so it might take some time.”

She was frowning now, and he forced himself to keep going as anxiety threatened to choke him. “I… I want to be honest, but I want to tell you so you’ll understand…” He trailed off, unsure how to continue.

“Is there somebody else?” she whispered. “Is that why you’re always so sad?”

He waved his hands, shaking his head vigorously. “No no no, I promise that you’re the only one… I love you, Trisha, and that’s why I want to be honest, because I know we were talking about the type of family you want and where we would build a house together and I wanted you to know the truth about me before we take this any further!”

_“You’re rambling.”_

_“Stop talking before you confuse her more!”_

_“Some lady charmer you are.”_

He obediently shut up.

Trisha looked stunned, eyes wide and hand over her mouth. The leaves rustled above them, and for a long moment the only other sound was a bird warbling from its nest.

She found her voice first. “You… love me?” she whispered through her fingers.

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak again. She dropped her hands, leaning closer, and nothing could have prepared him for the moment that Trisha kissed him.

The people in his head went wild.

Hohenheim pushed their voices away again as Trisha pulled back, the cheering from his spiritual tenants making it difficult for him to think straight. Or maybe his thoughts were muddled by how soft her lips had been against his, and how she smelled of soap and honeysuckle.

Their breathing was loud as the bird above them fell silent. Trisha settled beside him, that tantalising mouth pulling at the corners into the most brilliant smile he had ever seen. She gave a breathless little laugh which he matched with one of this own, and he still couldn’t gather his thoughts through the giddiness in his brain.

She was ravishing.

As usual, Trisha spoke first. “I love you too,” she said simply. “Whatever you need to tell me, take your time – I’ll be there for you.”

He couldn’t believe what had just happened, and as the girl who made his heart sing began to unpack their lunch from her picnic basket, Hohenheim shot a quick thought to the souls inside him.  _“You all had better help me with this romance thing.”_

The comment was met with laughter, which maybe should have worried him, but he simply grinned. The sky was clear and blue above them, the air warm with the promise of good days to come, and just for a minute or two, his world was perfect.


End file.
